Getaway: Nashville for families

Wednesday

May 27, 2009 at 12:01 AMMay 27, 2009 at 11:08 AM

What's the hidden bonus of a family tour of Nashville? Being able to connect with your kids, especially those hard-to-please 'tweens and teens through music. To the generation that downloads tunes instead of spins LPs, Nashville offers a historical perspective even if country isn't your kids' favorite musical genre.

Candyce H. Stapen

What's the hidden bonus of a family tour of Nashville? Being able to connect with your kids, especially those hard-to-please 'tweens and teens through music. To the generation that downloads tunes instead of spins LPs, Nashville offers a historical perspective even if country isn't your kids' favorite musical genre.

In Music City the digital generation can discover how folk, country, rockabilly as well as rhythm and blues influenced their hot iPod picks. And even if you yourself came of age in the era of vinyl and eight tracks, you get to be the guide and gain some newfound respect from the kids.

To those kids who have not yet discovered country or don't think it's "cool," just say two words: Taylor Swift. She proves that teens like country music. The best-selling vocalist is one of many headliners at the June 11-14 CMA Music Festival, Nashville's big block party.

But any time of year, begin your magical musical tour at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Plaques paying tribute to the genre's greats line the rotunda. "Sing Me Back Home," the permanent exhibit details country music's history and features such over-the-top items as Elvis' gold piano and Porter Wagoner's jacket, elaborately decorated with blue beaded wagon wheels.

The Hall of Fame's kiosks are the most fun. That's where you can call up videos and songs. After watching Minnie Pearl decked out in a flowered hat with a price tag attached deliver her lines, kids realize that she was a skit master long before "Saturday Night Live" and fashion, as part of showmanship, started way before Madonna's pointy bras.

You might also gain points with your teens by quietly singing along to Elvis' "Hound Dog" or toe-tapping to Jerry Lee Lewis' rendition of "Great Balls of Fire." To get in touch with performers' style and the decades' standards, have your kids listen to Patsy Cline croon "Crazy" and ask them to compare Carl Perkins' version of "Blue Suede Shoes" to Elvis's hit.

The museum's Experience Music programs offer songwriter sessions where kids can ask questions about the creative process and "petting zoos," where young musicians get to finger guitars, banjos, gourds and other instruments.

From the museum, board a bus to RCA's Studio B, the hallowed hall where Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Eddy Arnold and Charley Pride recorded. Although there's not much to see except posters and the room where Elvis laid down "Are You Lonesome Tonight," the simplicity of the studio underscores that artists before the era of high-tech, really needed to know how to sing. No-lip synching allowed. Elvis recorded "Lonesome" in nearly one take. The ending required cutting and splicing because the back-up singers hit a false note.

More than 100 clubs, most clustered in or near downtown, offer live music nightly, but few admit those under 21. To enjoy live music with your kids, book tickets ahead of time. Check the headliner concerts, the museums' performance schedules and reserve space at one place that does allow kids (at tables, but not at the bar), the Bluebird Cafe. At the 21-table restaurant plus "listening club," artists perform as they might in your living room, without razzle dazzle back-up. Garth Brooks and Kathy Mattea sand here before they became famous. Also, the Stage on Broadway club admits kids accompanied by adults before 6 p.m.

Among the June and July offerings at the Ryman Auditorium are six nights of bluegrass music. The famed concert venue also hosts Elvis Costello June 16 and Chris Isaak July 22. The historic auditorium was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1943 to 1974.

The Grand Ole Opry actually began in 1925 as the radio program "WSM Barndance." One night in 1927, after the show followed a classical opera broadcast, the announcer introduced the country music program as the "Grand Ole Opry" and the name stuck.

Every Saturday night the Grand Ole Opry, now with its own auditorium, hosts a variety of performances from country to crossover. Headliner shows feature Carrie Underwood June 9. Wynonna appears June 27 and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band takes the stage Aug. 15.

Nashville itself has the second largest landmass of any city in the U.S., sprawling over 533-square miles (Jacksonville is the largest). And in addition to popular music the city boasts a symphony. In the summer the Nashville Symphony offers free, outdoor, classical concerts in parks as well as paid performances of Brahms and Beethoven at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

The 55-acre Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art, one of several museums in Nashville, hosts Family Night Out, geared to young kids, on Thursdays in June and July. Budding stars can clap along with such children's musicians as Dennis Scott, winner of a 2006 Grammy for producing a children's recording. Cheekwood is known for its botanical prints, Worcester porcelain, American silver and dazzling Faberge collection that includes three eggs plus tulips fashioned from amethyst, quartz and diamonds.

Outdoors, kids romp through the boxwood, Japanese and seasonal gardens and also explore the nearly mile-long sculpture trail. It's home to whimsical art works such as Sophie Ryder's "Crawling Lady Hare" and abstract creations like George Ricky's "One Line Horizontal Floating Twenty Feet," a metal beam that moves with the wind, changing appearance. With a Backpack Adventure bag borrowed from the museum, kids can follow scavenger hunt clues or sketch what they see.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts, located in an impressive adaptation of the former main post office, offers Frist Fridays, their summer concert series May 29, June 26 and July 31. Linger in the courtyard and listen to a variety of music from country and western to classic rock.

Unlike most art museums, the Frist, with no permanent collection, serves as a venue for traveling exhibits. Teens interested in architecture might like "Museums in the 21st Century," May 29 to Aug. 23. Those feeling moved to create should visit ArtQuest, the museum's room where kids and families can paint watercolors, make a print or create a sculpture.

Music City offers visitors plenty of places to try Southern comfort food, a must-do on a Nashville visit. For a stuff-your-face breakfast of biscuits, eggs, ham and blueberry pie, try the Loveless Cafe, a Nashville landmark at the northern end of the Natchez Trace Parkway. Popular Jack's Bar-B-Que serves up pork, chicken and turkey plates that get locals and visitors alike lining up. For a more healthy meal, visit Tayst Restaurant and Wine Bar, certified by the Green Restaurant Association, to find such tasty staples as spaghetti and meatballs (the spaghetti is whole wheat), trout and chicken fricassee.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself humming country tunes - or at least Elvis - while you explore. Some time before you head home from Nashville, you're likely to notice you and your kids share a newfound appreciation for music and each other.

If you go

GETTING THERE: Service to Nashville International Airport is available through American (www.aa.com); Delta (www.delta.com); USAirways (www.usairways.com); United (www.united.com) and Midwest (www.midwestairlines.com).

GETTING AROUND: Nashville offers public bus service as well as taxis. Since Nashville is spread out, consider renting a car for convenience.
STAYING THERE: The Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center (rates from $189 per night; www.gaylordhotels.com; 888-777-6779) is a mega-resort with 2,881 guestrooms in a complex with indoor gardens, restaurants and shops. The hotel provides shuttles to the downtown area which is 10 miles away. The Grand Ole Opry is within walking distance of the hotel as is Opry Mills Outlets Mall with 200 off-price stores. The place to stay downtown is the 122-room Hermitage, a grand dame property rated AAA Five Diamonds (rates from $219; www.thehermitagehotel.com; 888-310-8176).